I made these last summer, and with selling a house / buying a new one and starting grad school I never had time to post the recipe. Things have calmed down a bit, so I’m hoping to post all of my back-logged recipes and then actually photograph some new ones!

Holy smokes! This is potentially one of the most smooth, creamy and decadent chocolate cakes that I have ever eaten! I was a little nervous at first to 1) make a chocolate cake from scratch, mainly due to the altitude (cakes do weird things) 2) make a cake with red wine. It turns out I had nothing to worry about. The cake is a little bitter (in a good way), and if you don’t like that just add a bit more sugar to the cake batter, or the fresh whipped cream.

Directions

In a small bowl, stir together the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

In a larger bowl cream together the butter and sugar until well mixed and fluffy.

Add one egg at a time to the butter and sugar mixture.

Add the vanilla.

Once the wet ingredients are well combined, add the dry ingredients and wine – alternating in small batches. Make sure that everything is mixed together – I didn’t and that’s why there’s some light patches of flour or whatever.

Pour the cake batter into your greased bunt pan.

Place the bunt pan on the middle rack, and bake for about 45 minutes.

Once the cake has fully baked, remove from the oven and place on a baker’s rack (leave the cake in the pan for a few minutes then carefully dump right side up.

Using a whisk and starting on a low setting (gradually moving to a faster speed) whisk your heavy whipping cream. Once the whipping cream isn’t a milk consistency add the vanilla and keep whipping. Right before the whipping cream is fully whipped (it’ll have little peaks) add the confectioner’s sugar.

Cut the cake up into pieces and put a dollop of whipped cream on each piece and enjoy!!!

Place the ground mixture into a zip lock bag or large container with a lid.

Coat the pork chops with the sauce mixture.

After your skillet is hot, add a bit of coconut oil (or any high-heat oil). Reduce the heat to medium-high and then add each pork chop. Sear each side in the hot pan, then reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to cook until the pork chops are cooked through (flip occasionally).

Add the fresh green beans and the other half of bell peppers to the sauce mixture left in the bag, coating evenly. Cook in a skillet for about 5 minutes until they are soft but still crunchy.

I pretty much love smoked cheese and try to eat it whenever possible. I had the brilliant idea to make enchiladas with smoked Gouda and roasted tomatillo sauce, I added cranberries to make it even more interesting! My husband was not really a fan, but I loved the enchiladas. The only thing that I would change is not putting cranberries on top as they were too tart.

serves 8-10

time: about 1 hour

Roasted Tomatillo Enchiladas Sauce Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatillos, husked and cubed

4 cloves of garlic

2 jalapenos

1 shallot, skin removed

1 lime, juiced

1/4 – 1/2 cup fresh whole cranberries

chicken broth

pinch of salt

Enchiladas Ingredients

8-10 white flour tortillas (or corn, whichever you prefer)

2 chicken breasts

salt

pepper

cayenne pepper

shredded smoked Gouda cheese

green onions, chopped

Roasted Tomatillo Enchiladas Sauce Directions

Turn your oven’s broiler on.

Place the sliced tomatillos, jalapenos and shallot on a tinfoil lined cookie sheet.

Broil for about 5 minutes on each side – you want the produce to be charred but not burned.

Place the broiled produce, lime juice, the whole cranberries, about 1/2 cub chicken broth, and pinch of salt into a Cuisinart. Mix until completely blended. Set aside. Add a little more broth until it’s fairly runny. Add more salt and lime if needed.

Enchiladas Ingredients

Place the chicken breasts into a pot of water – add salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring the pot of water / chicken to a boil. Let boil for about 10 minutes, then turn to medium heat and continue to cook for about 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked.

Shred up the smoked Gouda cheese. Chop the green onions. Set aside.

Once the chicken has cooked and cooled shred with your clean hands. Mix in a bit of the roasted tomatillo sauce so that the chicken is moist.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Wrap your tortillas in a paper towel and heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds – you just want the tortillas to be soft to they don’t tear when rolling.

Pour a little bit of the roasted tomatillo sauce onto the bottom of your baking dish.

Dip both sides of the tortilla in the roasted tomatillo sauce that is on the bottom of the baking dish. Add a handful of the shredded chicken, smoked Gouda cheese, and chopped green onions. Roll and place on one side of the baking dish with the two sides of the tortilla down. Continue this process until all of the meat has been stuffed into the tortillas.

My husband found this recipe on reddit. We measured everything out into cups, teaspoons, etc. so there’s no translation from grams, etc. – fantastic for you! This pizza process takes awhile (like a day)….but it’s so worth it! If you are looking for super thin pizza crust, maybe just use one ball for two pizzas. I typically go for thin crust, but this crust was so tasty I didn’t mind that it was a little thicker than I usually like it. My husband believes that pizza should not have too many toppings, soooo, I let him have his way and we only used mozzarella cheese, Boars Head pepperoni and sliced black olives. Feel free to use whatever toppings you want though!

This was such a great pizza we had to use the beer glasses we brought all the way home from Easter Island to Colorado 🙂

Serves 4-6 people

time FOREVER, overnight + a few hours – plan ahead

For each 10″ pizza dough:

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon yeast

3/4 cups warm water

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil + more for the pans

Tomato Pizza Sauce:

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 medium cloves garlic, chopped finely

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 six-inch sprigs fresh basil, leaves only

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and split in half

1 teaspoon sugar

Toppings:

Anything really. We used mozzarella cheese, Boars Head pepperoni and sliced black olives.

2) Place plastic wrap over the bowl of mixed dough and let rise in warm place over night (or several hours during the day) – the oven is a good place.

3) After the dough has done it’s thing dump out onto a floured surface. Divide into balls equaling the number of pizzas you’ll be making (I had two balls).

4) Pour a little olive oil into your pans and place the ball of dough in the middle. Coat the ball of dough will olive oil on all sides. Use the ball of dough to coat the entire pan with the olive oil. After the ball of dough is well oiled, cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it sit / rise for 2 more hours.

5) The dough should have flattened and filled the bottom of the pan, gently press the dough into the areas of the pan that it did not reach. Gently lift the dough from the pan to get rid of any air bubbles under the dough.

Pizza Sauce Directions:

1) Place the whole tomatoes into a food processor until there are just itty-bitty tomato chunks.

2) Heat the butter and oil in a medium saucepan until the butter has melted. Add the garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and large pinch salt and cook for about 3 minutes until stirring frequently. Add in the food processed tomatoes, basil leaves, onion halves, and sugar. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Once the sauce is gently bubbling, reduce the heat to low. Continuing cooking until reduced by half (about 1 hour), stirring frequently. Season to taste with salt and more of the other seasonings if needed. Allow to cool (we made ours the night before and refrigerated until we made our pizzas).

Put It All Together:

1)Pre-head your oven to 400 degrees F.

2) Spread the sauce over the dough, being sure to spread all the way to the edge.

3) Toss on your toppings, whatever your chose and however much you want.

4) Place the cast iron skillets with the pizza dough, sauce and toppings in the heated oven and bake for about 15 – 20 minutes. Enjoy hot!

I absolutely hated carrot cake as a child, my mom loved it and I thought she was insane. I had it for the first time as an adult several years ago, and I finally got what my mom was talking about. I still do not like carrot cake with raisins, and carrot cake with nuts is growing on me.

This carrot cake is amazing. It is moist. It is full of flavor. I combined Wallaby yogurt with cream cheese – OMG. I blended in my food processor and it turned out so creamy and soft.

3. Take the cream cheese for the frosting out of the refrigerator so it can soften as you make the cake batter.

4. In a large bowl combine the brown sugar and oil on medium speed with a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add in the yogurt until fully mixed. Next add the eggs one at a time, beating into the mixture each egg. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Set aside.

5. In a separate bowl add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. manually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a spatula until just combined – you do not want to over mix. Gently fold in the shredded carrots and 1/2 cup pecan pieces. Pour the batter into prepared springform pan.

6. Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Be care not to overbake otherwise the cake will be dry. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.

7. For the frosting add (1) 6 oz. container of Wallaby yogurt and the entire package of cream cheese to your food processor. Beat until creamy. Add in more Wallaby yogurt until the mixture is totally creamy but not totally runny.

8. Once the cake has completely cooked frost the top of the cake, allowing some of the frosting to drip down. Sprinkle

Quinoa is an ancient grain from the Andean region of South American, including Peru. While my husband and I were in Peru last month we actually didn’t eat any quinoa – our guide for the Choquequirao trek said that most of the quinoa is exported out of the country and what remains is expensive. While at home in Colorado we eat a lot of quinoa, mainly in salads because it’s not so great on its own. This is a quick and easy salad, perfect for those warm nights.

Serves 4-6

time: roughly 40 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa, cooked per package directions

cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1/2 orange bell pepper, sliced in bite-size pieces

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced in bite-size pieces

green onion, sliced thinly

cucumber, peeled and sliced in bite-size pieces

kalamata olives, sliced in half

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

black pepper

kosher salt

feta cheese

pine nuts

Directions:

1) Cook the quinoa according to the package instructions – remove from heat and let cool.

2) After washing the vegetables cut them and set aside on the cutting board. Slice the kalamata olives in half.

After spending two weeks in Peru, we are back in Colorado. Our trip to Peru took us on a 4 day trek to the Incan ruins of Choquequirao high in the Ande mountains, to South America’s largest zip line in Santa Theresa, to amazing hot springs over looking the river in Santa Theresa, to the not so tourist town of Quillabamba, the gorgeous city of Cusco, to the very tourist city of Aguas Calientes and Machu Pichu, to the hot, humid and noisy city of Lima, and to other small towns in between.

We left Colorado with several weeks of 5″ of snow and cold weather – and now we are back to sunshine and warm weather! It will be nice and sunny until this weekend where we’ll dip 20-30 degrees and have snow…so is the life in Colorado.

I actually made this recipe last summer but didn’t get the chance to post it. My husband and I made it again last night, and as before it was delicious! If you are looking for a potato salad that does not have mayonnaise, look no further. This recipe uses red potatoes, bacon, white vinegar, sugar and whole mustard seed mustard. It is sweet and tangy. Read below for the directions.

Serves 6-8

time: 1 hour, roughly

Ingredients:

15 small to medium red potatoes, washed and poked with a fork

6 slices bacon

1 small red onion, diced

1 cup white vinegar

6 tablespoons water

9 tablespoons white sugar

3 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

6 tablespoons whole mustard seed mustard

2-4 hard boiled eggs

1 bunch dill, washed and chopped finely

Directions:

1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil, once boiling place the red potatoes in the water and boil for about 20 minutes / until soft when poked with a fork. Drain and set aside to cool. Once cool slice into bite sized cubes.

2) Boil the eggs for about 20 minutes, drain the water, cool the eggs then slice them into bite sized pieces.

3) Heat a skillet to high and cook the bacon, being sure to not burn the pieces (turn the heat down if needed). Once the bacon has cooked place on a paper towel lined plate and press out the extra grease. Break into little pieces and set aside.

4) Drain most of the bacon grease. Add the diced red onion and cook for about 5 minutes until slightly brown.

6) Place the cooked & cut up potatoes pieces into the pan with the cooked onions and cook for a little over 5 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so.

6) In a small bowl mix together the white vinegar, water, sugar, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the potato and red onion mixture in the skillet. Remove from the heat.

7) Scoop the potato mixture into a serving bowl. Stir in the chopped eggs, bacon pieces and chopped dill. Stir to combine. Serve immediately (this potato salad can be served cold, but it’s better warm).

This is a Food Network recipe, but as always I’ve modified the recipe just a tad. The Parmesan & chopped parsley in the bread crumbs were awesome (of course you can use gluten free bread crumbs to make this a gluten free meal).

1)Heat a heavy skillet, I always prefer cast iron, once hot pour in a bit of high heat oil – you’ll need to work fast on this next step so that the oil doesn’t get too hot. Also boil the water for the polenta.

2) Combine the panko bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, salt, and pepper (to taste) in a flat dish with sides (like a pyrex). Beat the eggs in another flat dish with sides. Place each pork chop in the beaten eggs, 1 at a time. Then, place the egged pork chop in the bread crumb mixture, being sure to coat all of the pork chops.3) Place the breaded pork chops into your hot skillet. Cook the first side on high for about 3 minutes; flip and cook that side for about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking until the pork chops are still slightly pink. Remove the pork chops from the skillet and place on a plate then cover with tin foil.

4) While the pork chops are cooking, add the corn meal & salt to the boiling water. Corn meal cooks really fast, like in 5 minutes – if it becomes too thick just add a bit more water. You can also add a bit of shredded Parmesan cheese if you want.

5) After you pull the pork chops off the skillet and cover with tin foil add a bit more oil, if needed, to the hot skillet. Cook the thickly sliced cremini mushrooms for a few minutes. They will become tender.

6) Serve the breaded pork chops, polenta and sauteed mushrooms and enjoy with a salad! Oh, and wine 🙂

I made this cake for my birthday a few months ago. It was amazing. The perfect mixture of flavors.

I have been craving a banana cake for maybe 8 years now, ever since I had my first bite of a banana cake. One of the ladies that worked for the construction company in the Bay Area that I worked for years ago has a baker son. He’s just not any baker – he is the main cake guy for Oprah. He made cakes for, I believe, Jessica Simpson’s fist wedding and Christina Aguilera’s first wedding. He is the man behind Perfect Endings located in Napa, one of the two cities that I grew up in.

He made this banana cake for one of my company’s holiday parties. I couldn’t remember anything about his banana cake except that it was SO good – I mean, I’ve been wanting another piece for years! It might have had chocolate frosting, I think it was one layer…

I decided to make a banana cake for my birthday, and I put my own touch on it. The cake that I created was four layers with two layers of homemade vanilla pudding, two layers of crunchy Nutella, and was frosted with crunchy Nutella. Even though it was so rich some of my friends wanted seconds!

Ingredients

Banana Cake Ingredients:

adapted from http://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/2013/08/27/soft-and-moist-banana-cake/

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup mashed bananas (2-3 bananas)

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

Vanilla Pudding Ingredients:

2 cups milk

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons corn starch

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon butter

Nutella Ingredients

1 jar crunchy Nutella, or smooth – your choice

Banana Cake Directions:

1) Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl.

2) Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture, beat to combine.

3) Add flour and baking soda, beat to combine.

4) Add the bananas, milk and vanilla, beat to combine.

5) Pour the batter as evenly as possible into (4) greased 8 inch pans (you can also add a sheet of parchment paper to the bottom of the pans).

6) Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. You do not want to overcook the cake as it should be super moist.

7) Cool the cakes in their pans for about 10 minutes, then flip them onto cooling racks until completely cooled.

Vanilla Pudding Directions:

1) While the cake is baking, heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it bubbles – be sure that you don’t over cook or burn the milk! Turn down to low.

2) Stir together the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a bowl. Pour the mixture into the heated milk a little bit at a time, stirring during each addition.

3) Continue to cook the pudding until it thickens just enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not boil!!

4) Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter.

5) Pour into a bowl and let cool in your refrigerator.

To Assemble:

1) After the cakes and pudding have cooled, cut off the un-even parts of the cakes with a bread knife.

2) Place the first layer of cake onto a decorative plate. Scoop out about half of the pudding on top of the first layer of cake. Spread evenly.

3) Place a few toothpicks on the first layer; then place the second layer on top of the cake/pudding being sure the catch the toothpicks. Spread about 1/8 – 1/4 of the Nutella on top of the second cake layer.

4) Place a few toothpicks on the second layer; then place the third layer on top of the cake/Nutella being sure the catch the toothpicks. Spread the rest of the pudding evenly over the third layer.

5) Place a few toothpicks on the third layer; then place the fourth layer on top of the cake/pudding being sure the catch the toothpicks. Spread Nutella over the top of the last layer. Then carefully spread Nutella on the sides of the cake – the pudding will have oozed out, so to make it cleaner just lick off the pudding…just kidding, scoop it off with a knife / spatula, then eat it!